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8 Siam and the Siamese. to trouble you with the detail of the causes which led to the failure of four expeditions from England and two from the United States. They had very little effect, and the project had apparently fallen into abeyance, when it was my privilege to receive Her Ma­jesty's commands to take steps if an opportunity offered for the establishment of amicable and trading intercourse with Siam. I was fortunate in having had much previous correspondence with the King, who is one of the most extraordinary men with whom in the course of my life I have ever come into contact. He was the eldest legitimate son of the King of Siam, but when his father died he, being under age, was superseded by an illegitimate brother, who seized upon the Government. And to protect himself from the perils to which the heir to an oriental throne is always exposed when that throne is occupied by an usurper, he "made himself holy" — that is to say, he entered into a Buddhist temple. There he remained eleven years, and devoted himself to the study of literature, science, and the acquirement of a knowledge of the sacred languages, the Pali and the Sanscrit. He also found time to learn the English and the Latin. On the death of his bro­ther which happened too suddenly to enable him to convey the sceptre to his own descendants, the nobility and the people demanded the proclamation of the legitimate King, who was made the ruler of the country; and it was through his influence that Siam was thrown open to the commerce not only of Britain but of the world. In 1855 I had the satisfaction of entering into a treaty of friendship and commerce with that country. In those days the whole shipping trade of Siam was represented by 20 vessels — one half foreign and the other Siamese. Now 400 cargoes are annually shipped from Bangkok alone. Before proceeding to Bangkok I wrote to the King stating that our public relations were of a very unsatis­factory character, but that I wished to approach him in a friendly spirit; that I had a force which I had no desire to display; but if he would meet me and enable me to show him that our interests were his and that his interests were ours, if I should persuade him that we were made rather to love than to hate, rather mutually to serve and conciliate than to distrust and repel each other, I hoped he would allow me to present my cre­dentials at his Court; that I would come with a large force, if neces­sary for my purpose, but that I would much rather appeal to his feelings of respect for the position of the country which I repre­sented. I implored him to allow me to come in amity. The Ameri­can missionaries, with whom I was in correspondence, did not encourage us. They thought, whatever assurances I might have received from the King, that I should be met with a feeling of repug­nance. I had better hopes, and I went. We reached the mouth of the Meinam River, of which the Siamese are very proud — as all nations are proud of their rivers I We English boast of our "Silver Thames" whose silver indeed is somewhat tarnished! The Portuguese